A Happy New Year to all my friends!

Overall 2013 was a very good year for many of us, even though there were bumps in the road.

It is with my humble thanks that I wish you all a fabulous New Year. You have enriched my life and I'm glad you are in it.

For 2014 I wish you all the best that life has to offer; great achievements and experiences; pride in yourself and everything you do; success in everything you do; freshness and beauty in your life; good health; lots of love; lots of possibilities; and peace.

Remember, what Walt Disney said:
 "If you can dream it, you can achieve it!"

And I'll end this year with one of my favorite blessings:



And a Happy New Year to you all!

Happy Camper Tonight!

Although I've purchased a few, I haven't done much with my Style Arc patterns up to now. I think that may be changing!

I've spent a few minutes here and there the past week copying off my Stacie Jean Jacket which will be my first entry for the SWAP 2014. I knew with a new pattern and a new to me company, I would have to do a muslin, even though I prefer to just forget them and dive head first into my project.

Yesterday and today I got to work on my muslin a bit. As per usual, I knew I would have to narrow the shoulders and enlarge the sleeves, but since I'm new to Style Arc I wasn't sure what additional changes would be needed. This pattern has multiple pieces, with a front and back yoke, and three front pieces, as well as two back pieces, and lots of curves to make you look great, but trying to compare the pieces with a SFD blueprint was out of the question for me. There are just way too many curves and I couldn't figure out if it was good, bad, or somewhere in between.

At my first comparison, I decided it was going to be too small, so for some unknown reason, I added 1/2" to each seam on the jacket. Remember, there are 3 front and 2 back pieces, so with the 12 seams, I added 6 inches! Oops. Sometimes the brain doesn't engage. So today, I took everything apart, took off all my additional inches, and figured I'd sew it together as drafted and see if I needed all my other usual alterations. Score! It is very close with the first muslin!

The only alteration necessary is a small FBA between the center front and the mid front pieces. I took my seam allowance down from 5/8" to about 1/4" all the way to the bottom. No sway back necessary. No fiddling with all the bits and pieces. The hem line is basically even all the way around. I'm thrilled. I just need to true up all my pieces and be sure I've walked my seams and this will be in production!

After I did the FBA, it looks like this:

I think this will be a big winner in my closet! I'm already seeing it in wool, silk, linen, denim, and many other fabrics both solid and prints. It's the kind of jacket I love wearing, and fits my casual professional work style perfectly! Can't wait to see the completed jacket! Full speed ahead!

More later!

It's Begun!!!

I'm really  hoping to get my SWAP done for 2014. In case you missed it, here is the plan:

 

If you look closely, you will note that the Style Arc Stacie jean jacket was on last year's list and didn't reach achievement. Also, the Hot Patterns Great White Shirt. Those will be completed this year! I have my wearable muslin of the Great White Shirt done in the leaf print shirt of my Winter 6 Pac. The Stacie has begun it's muslin journey. Here's the progress so far:

 

Traced, ready to cut for first muslin fitting

I anticipate having to do at least a few changes to this muslin based on my typical body changes, but as I haven't done that many Style Arc patterns, other than the narrow shoulders and bodacious biceps, I will put the muslin together first and see what additional changes are needed. I expect a sway back adjustment will be needed as well as a possible FBA, but I want to make the muslin first and see how much of each will be needed, as well as any length adjustments that may come up.

 

Stay tuned. I hope this becomes a very interesting year for sewing.

 

 

 



 

2013 In Review

A quick recap of the year in sewing. My 2013 SWAP theme was Chocolate Dreams. Storyboard here:

 

As you may recall, my life got a little hectic before the Spring came when my adorable husband had a heart attack rapidly followed by a quadruple bypass and a stay in the hospital and then extensive nursing for a bit when he got home. Kind of limited my sewing time for a while!

 

But as I counted up the other day, counting my 7 Sure Fit Design bodice muslins, I completed over 30 garments in 2013. A good year in spite of some epic fails! (If I count all of the SFD muslins, it's 39!)

We’ll start with the epic fails:

 

Brown wool slacks that I forgot to add the seam allowances; floral cowl that’s neckline reaches down for exciting views; seersucker bowling shirt; redesigned seersucker bowling shirt and black and tan rayon cap sleeve shirt (not shown); flutter sleeve cardigan that is way too fluttery.  

The not quite there yets: Aqua/tan/brown floral tee where I mistook a stretch fabric for a knit and didn’t add enough ease; Multiple Sure Fit Designs Bodices; multiple bras.

 

 

The good ones that are worn regularly: Nicole’s skirt; Long sleeve brown tee~ also a short sleeved tee and a tank out of the same fabric; chevron striped tee; brown/black stripe pants;  tan tee; brown batik top; brown/aqua/orange print tee; twill pants; black & aqua tee; black/aqua/tan linen; taupe micro suede over shirt (looks greenish but isn't); Brown/white cardigan; tan tank that went with the flutter sleeve cardigan; jungle tank; fleece topper; leaf print shirt; Dale’s sweatpants; my sweatpants; my brown pants slip and brown wool pants. (Not all are shown!)

 

 

As I look back, it was a great year for sewing. I learned a lot about fitting the body I have now instead of waiting for it to get to the body I want. I put together a pretty cohesive wardrobe over the year. My closet is much more friendly each morning when I’m looking for things to wear.  

I am inspired by all of my blog friends wherever they may be. I do watch Stitcher’s Guild although I’m not a super active poster there. I learn from all of you and love seeing your creations and hearing your thoughts.  

My goals for 2014 are to do a complete SWAP, and if it doesn’t work out in the time frame allotted, I’ll keep going. I have a red grouping coming up after SWAP. I need to focus on my health a little more. I need to focus on learning better habits instead of procrastinating when I am nervous or unsure about doing something. And as always, I need to focus more on living in the present than in the past and the future. Happy New Year my blog friends! I wish you a fun filled, exciting, healthy, and abundant 2014!

Merry Christmas to all my sewing friends!

I have been doing a bit of sewing, just not posting as time is short in my life right now. I've done a pair of sweatpants for me, and a nice pair of brown wool pants with a matching brown pants slip instead of a full lining. I like those better because they can be laundered instead of taking the pants to the dry cleaner every week or so.

I'll be doing a year end wrap up I think, and that will be some time between now and the end of the year. I'll post them all, the good, the bad, and the ugly! :P}}

SWAP 2014 starts soon and I can't wait. Got three pieces of fabric from Santa with my gifts this evening. I did tell Santa exactly where, and how much to get, but it was a nice surprise to have them to fondle!

I wish you all a wonderful, exciting and Merry Christmas!

As always, more later!

Warm and cozy and with pockets!

My husband decided he needed some sweatpants. Since he's been working for about a month to get my garage cleaned up so the car can go inside and building me lots of shelving for my fabric bins, I figured he was due.

Knew he wanted pockets, and I was just figuring on some down and dirty inseam pockets, and done. But oh, no! He first said he wanted cargo pockets. Perplexed, I pulled out my Threads Index and found the right magazine with the cargo pocket tutorial. Then I asked if he wanted the ones with the baffles around the edges. When he looked confused, I asked exactly what he wanted.

His response: ones like these. He had Levis on. I told him those weren't cargo pockets, but his response was that he just wanted some pockets deep enough that his stuff wouldn't fall out. Okaaaay. But then the he added that he wanted one back pocket too. Only one and on the left hip for his wallet.

So instead of my quick and dirty sweats that were going to take an hour or so, a day and a half later, he has nice sweats. The front pockets are like trouser pockets, the back is a copy of the Levis back pocket, and it has a separate waistband. He is very pleased, so that's a win.

I personally think they should be a bit slimmer and a bit shorter, but he's hidden them from me so they will stay as they are! LOL

My sweat pants are up next! More later!